Hair dyes are formulated to give hair long-lasting and richly hued colors, but several factors from mechanical to environmental can accelerate color changes and fading.
The cuticle is the primary protection for the hair cortex. The cuticle is made up of cuticle cells which surround the cortex, or center of the hair. When the hair color is applied to the hair, the color molecules deposit throughout the cortex and cuticle regions of the fiber. The color molecules, however, do not remain permanently affixed inside the hair, rather as time passes, the color molecules diffuse out towards the surface of the fiber. As the color molecules diffuse towards the surface of the fiber, they come into more direct contact with water during washing. Therefore, the primary cause of color fading is due to the color diffusion and hair's contact with water. Washing both increases the rate of diffusion of the color molecules, as well as eventually washing the color molecules from the hair.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for a method and composition for preventing color loss in dyed hair through the application of a composition which provides enhanced efficacy and performance for preventing color loss from hair fibers.